Well, this has been an eventful day, especially when one considers it in light of what my weekdays have looked like in general since moving to PR.

I made yogurt first thing this morning (see previous post for more info on that!) Then, Sheila dropped her youngest daughter Robin off here around quarter to ten this morning. Robin is about Noah's age, and just a sweet little thing.

In the three+ years that I have had children of my own, this may actually be the first time I've got to babysit someone else's kid. While living at the camp I always let my friends know I was available, but the inconvenience of dropping kids off out there always precluded me actually returning all the babysitting favours I owed them. So this was really fun, even if it only was for an hour. And afterward, Sheila and her other two girls came in and we had a quick tea before they all had to scoot home for lunch. (Side note: Jude was having some trouble sharing toys--we'll have to work on that.)

I actually cooked lunch today, instead of heating up leftovers or making sandwiches. This is a habit I have gotten out of lately, since it's just me and the kids eating it, because I can get so much more of my other work done if I'm not cooking. However, today I made my famous corn chowder, which is one of the kids' and my favourite soups. Perhaps I'll post that recipe some other time.

After lunch I decided it was time to start painting the shelf above the kitchen sink, so I could finally put all the stuff back on it that's been sitting on my fridge and any other spare space in my kitchen for the last month. Then I remembered that the Sears delivery guy was coming to exchange my fridge for me today (the old one had a dent in the door), so I needed to get that cleared off and cleaned out. I managed to get all that done, and the delivery guys showed up while Jude and Noah were napping. The fridge was exchanged without even waking them up, believe it or not!

After supper was my book club. Jabin came with me as usual, and as usual also, I had to go to the grocery store afterwards. However, UNLIKE usual, Jabin was content for pretty much the entire evening! This has not become so unusual lately, actually, but it's been over two weeks since my last book club evening, and he was fairly cranky during said evening. It's so nice now that he's getting a little bit bigger, he is more content and interactive as a general rule.

In Book Club, we are reading a book called Tough Love, Tender Mercies by Lisa Harper. The first subject of the book is studying the biblical book of Hosea. A short synopsis of the book of Hosea is this: Hosea is a prophet of God who is to become a living object lesson for the nation of Israel. God tells Hosea to go take an "unfaithful wife", in other words, the girl whose name is all over the stalls in the boys' bathroom. "For a good time, call Gomer." (Can you imagine having a name like that?) So, HE DOES! No complaints, no protests, he marries her. After having one son by her, she has two more children which, from the way the text is worded, don't seem like they are his. Then his adulterous wife ends up getting herself in so much trouble, she sells herself into slavery.

So, there's Hosea, raising three kids by himself. (By the way, God had him name these three children with some not-so-nice monikers as warnings to the nation of Israel.) THEN, God says to him, "Go get that unfaithful woman you married and take her back." So he goes and BUYS her off the auction block. What an amazing picture of God's redemptive love.

Anyways, I mention this because of something that came up in our discussion tonight. One of the ladies was talking about Hosea's attitude towards all this.

Often, when God asks us to do a difficult thing, we think, Okay, I'll do this, but since "all things work out for the good", I know God will turn it into something really great, and it will all be okay. Then, if we don't see our situation turn out like WE expected, we wonder Did I really hear God?

Hosea didn't have that attitude. He never said "Okay God, I'll marry the neighbourhood slut, but that means you'll change her and make her faithful, right?" He just married her, no questions asked. Then, when she had left him at home alone with three kids, two of which weren't even his, he didn't say, "God, did I hear you right? Was I really supposed to marry this woman?" He knew that just because his situation wasn't what he might have hoped didn't mean he had done the wrong thing.

I thought about how this relates to me. After this past summer, when we were SO SURE we were going to be moving to India by fall, and then it didn't happen, I lost a lot of faith in my own ability to hear God. I kept asking myself "Are we sure we heard God? Maybe we aren't supposed to be in India at all!" The answer I kept coming back with in my spirit is that I knew that I knew that I knew that God told us we are going to India. It just didn't make sense to me the way that things had turned out.

But now I'm seeing that just because my situation isn't what I hoped it would be doesn't mean we did the wrong thing, or that we are not where God wants us to be. He told us we're going to India. I believe him. Whenever that happens, it happens--his timing is so much different than ours. And in retrospect, in every single situation, his timing is perfect. How could it be otherwise? He is God, after all.

"God is God and I am not--I can only see a part of the picture he's painting.God is God and I am man;So I'll never understand it all, 'cause only God is God."-Steven Curtis Chapman

Winters' Day In

Get more encouraging and knitterly posts by following me on Instagram @TalenaWinters.

Can you guess what I'm reading from the book that's missing from the shelf? I've seen all the movies, but haven't actually read the Divergent series before. No, I didn't start with Four. I'll go back and read that later if I can't get enough.
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It's a strange but creative concept, and the writing is awesome. Though I admit to having to suspend disbelief more than usual because of things I'm not sure the author thought of, the characters and world are so great, I don't care. With a character like Tris, so much more comes through on the page than the screen. I'm glad I'm finally taking the time.
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What are you reading this week?
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#divergent #veronicaroth #writerscommunity #writerslife #writersofig #bookstagram #amwriting #amreading #bookish #reading #igreads #mybookshelf

I'm finally retouching this year's school photos to print and came across this classic pose of ds#3. He makes every day an adventure. :-)
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Happy Monday!
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#boymom #sillyboy #canadianeh #goofykid #mondaysmile #family #funwithmykid

Looking for a fast gift to make for someone this season? I just published the Pinnable Pillow Cover. This statement beginner project can be made in only a few hours. Check it out at www.talenawinters.com/pinnable-pillow-cover.
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Happy knitting!
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#bernatyarn #bernatmegabulky #yarnspirations #pillowcover #homedecor #beginnerprojects #knitstagram #amknitting #knittersofig #knittersofinstagram #knitweardesign #mysecretwishbytalena #mswbtprojects

After nearly three years of development, the Building Blocks Cowl/Hood and its accompanying How to Knit tutorial are both published and available. (Now I do the dance of joy!)
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This is a learn-to-knit pattern with instructions written for multiple skill levels from Absolute to Advanced Beginner.
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The How to Knit tutorial is free at www.talenawinters.com/how-to-knit, and supports this pattern beautifully. It would also be great to use to teach someone else to knit.
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Find the unisex Building Blocks Cowl/Hood at www.talenawinters.com/building-blocks-cowl-hood.
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Happy knitting!
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#buildingblockscowl #knitstagram #amknitting #knittersofig #knittersofinstagram #knitweardesign #mysecretwishbytalena #mswbtprojects

Impulse buy. Impulse read. I like it so far. This week, my only reading time has been over breakfast and lunch, so progress is slow. Maybe I'll really get into The Bookshop of Yesterdays this weekend.
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I just love this clever cover design.
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What are you reading?
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#writerscommunity #writerslife #writersofig #bookstagram #amwriting #amreading #bookish #reading #thebookshopofyesterdays #amymeyerson

This month's newsletter couldn't be any later for November. This month, I talk about how resting can help increase productivity, plus the list of the book I read (a lot more than usual!). Happy December eve, friend!
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#newsletter #motivation #inspiration #amwriting #amreading #writersofig #writersofinstagram #writerslife #bookloversofinstagram

The idea for the Secret Garden Fingerless Mittens design came on a road trip to Seattle in early May. It was snowy at home still in Northern Alberta, but the mountains in B.C. and Seattle area were already well into spring. The closer we got to the coast, the more flowers and green we saw. And while we were there, I found a "Secret Garden" in a nature preserve in Bellevue.
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I was taking the trip with my mother and uncle, and my mom decided she was ready to branch out from her favourite fingerless mitten pattern and asked me to design her something. So, after having her knit up a swatch in the yarn she wanted to use, I did the math, came up with this pretty little eyelet design, and wrote it up for her. She intends to add beads along the "vine" on the back for extra bling and prettiness. However, even without, the seed stitch trim and simple eyelet pattern makes a striking, minimal statement.
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The Secret Garden Fingerless Mittens pattern is now on all the major platforms. Find out more and where to buy at
www.talenawinters.com/secret-garden-fingerless-mittens
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Happy knitting!
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#secretgardenfingerlessmittens #fingerlessmittens #kinttingpattern #knitstagram #amknitting #knittersofig #knittersofinstagram #knitweardesign #mysecretwishbytalena #mswbtprojects

What I'm making and what I'm reading. Slightly different genres! Ha! Either way, I'll be finished with both the book and the Secret Garden Fingerless Mittens design soon. Not bad for a week where I was sick. 🙂
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#secretgardenfingerlessmittens #brandonsanderson #wheeloftime #robertjordan #towersofmidnight #bookstagram #amwriting #amreading #bookish #reading #knitstagram #amknitting #knittersofig #knittersofinstagram #knitweardesign #mysecretwishbytalena #mswbtprojects